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J UNE 2015 | 77 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OIL COUNTRY ENGINEERING construction. "We combined this with LEAN principles," says Skopac, refer- ring to the waste elimination method pioneered by the Toyota automobile company. "Dennis was so committed to these principles that he made us agree not to work more than 40 hours per week – because this would mean less pressure for the design team and there- fore more creativity." For Mark Moran, project manager for Chandos Construction Ltd., IPD combined with LEAN was a game changer. "We started construction in February of 2014, and by July we realized we were ahead of schedule," he says, adding that at peak the project had about 45 people on site. "With LEAN, there was zero repetition of work. There were no change orders, and everything was delivered exactly when required. We actually came in about three per cent below our $10.5-million budget – which in itself was already a significantly reduced budget for the quality of building we were going for." Tenant s moved into Mosaic in February of this year, three months ahead of schedule. Almost instantly, the owners noticed workers staying in the building to mingle with each other after office hours. In addition to targeting LEED Plati- num, Cuku and his team are hoping Mosaic will become the first Living Building Challenge Petal-certified com- mercial facility in Alberta. "Our success in this regard will be known next year when the Living Building committee crunches all the energy consumption numbers," says Skopac. "Essentially, Mosaic has to generate five per cent more energy than it consumes, and we're hoping we're achieving that thanks to the integrated design process that resulted in an optimal combination of building systems – mechanical, elec- trical, geothermal and solar – and the architecture of the building, including the building science aspect." Deliver y of this Living Building Challenge net-zero energ y goal was the focus of ReNü Building Science. "The abilit y to sit side by side with Vedran during the earliest weeks of the project and mould the major build- ing massing, envelope, mechanical and renewable energy design variables into a cost effective net-zero energy deliv- erable was key to the project's ground breaking success," explains Stuart Fix, ReNü's Principal. Christ y Benoit summarizes the success of Mosaic when she says, "Sustainable and beautiful can co-exist, and when you add affordability that's where the real challenge occurs. But this is, I think, a living example of how the three can co-exist." A Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce 2:24 PM 10:36 AM Blue Graphite Interior Design.indd 1 15-04-30 2:13

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